The New York Times Company has agreed to sell its Boston Globe newspaper and other New England media assets to the owner of the Boston Red Sox baseball team for $70m in cash,，a steep discount on the $1.1bn the publisher paid for the newspaper in 1993.
紐約時報公司周六(8月3日)宣布，同意以7000萬美元現(xiàn)金將《波士頓環(huán)球報》和其他新英格蘭媒體集團(tuán)資產(chǎn)出售給波士頓紅襪棒球隊所有者約翰·亨利,。這一價格與紐約時報公司1993年收購該報支付的11億美元相比已大打折扣,。(《金融時報》)
《波士頓環(huán)球報》是美國最負(fù)盛名的幾家報紙之一，目前發(fā)行量在美國報紙中排第17位,。該報創(chuàng)刊于1872年,，從1873年開始就由波士頓的泰勒家族擁有，直至被《紐約時報》收購,。當(dāng)時的收購價格創(chuàng)出了美國報紙收購史上的最高記錄,。
The Times said the all-cash sale，expected to close in 30 to 60 days,，includes BostonGlobe.com,，Boston.com，The Worcester Telegram & Gazette,，Telegram.com,，the direct mail marketing company Globe Direct and the company’s 49 percent interest in Metro Boston，a free daily newspaper for commuters.
紐約時報公司稱,，此項全現(xiàn)金收購計劃預(yù)計將在30天至60天內(nèi)完成,。除《波士頓環(huán)球報》以外,，此次出售的資產(chǎn)還包括：《波士頓環(huán)球報》網(wǎng)站、Boston.com,、《沃塞斯特電訊報》及其網(wǎng)站,、直郵營銷公司Globe Direct以及免費日報Metro Boston的49%股權(quán)。(《華爾街日報》)
The Times announced in February it was putting the Globe and related assets up for sale four years after calling off a previous attempt to sell it. The company’s CEO said at the time selling the Globe would help the company focus attention on The New York Times brand.
紐約時報公司在2月宣布了出售《波士頓環(huán)球報》及相關(guān)資產(chǎn)的計劃,。公司首席執(zhí)行官表示,，出售《波士頓環(huán)球報》將有助于公司集中精力于拓展《紐約時報》品牌。早在4年前,，紐約時報公司就曾宣布過出售《波士頓環(huán)球報》,，后又取消了該計劃。(《華爾街日報》)
The New England properties were the last pieces of a once much bigger New York Times Co empire. The company has sold off everything - TV and radio assets,，dozens of U.S. regional papers,，digital companies，and its stakes in sports ventures - to focus solely on its flagship and international edition.
新英格蘭媒體集團(tuán)是昔日強大的紐約時報公司所剩無幾的分支之一,。為了專注于旗艦業(yè)務(wù)和國際版業(yè)務(wù),，紐約時報公司已拋售了電視和廣播業(yè)務(wù)、數(shù)十份美國地方報,、數(shù)碼公司和其在體育企業(yè)中的股份等大量資產(chǎn),。(路透社)
Like many US newspapers，the Globe has been hit by a slump in advertising revenue with circulation declining.The Globe enjoyed a weekday circulation of more than half a million in the early 1990s,，but this has fallen off as readers migrated to the internet.
同許多美國報紙一樣,，《波士頓環(huán)球報》深受廣告收入大幅下降和報紙發(fā)行量減少的沖擊。在90年代初期,，《波士頓環(huán)球報》的工作日發(fā)行量為逾50萬份,，但由于讀者轉(zhuǎn)向網(wǎng)絡(luò)，發(fā)行量便每況愈下,。(英國廣播公司)
The Globe isn’t the only newspaper to see a huge drop in its price at sale time.In April 2012,，Philadelphia’s two largest newspapers sold for $55 million，a fraction of the $515 million paid by a group of investors in 2006.
《波士頓環(huán)球報》并不是唯一出售價格大幅下降的報紙,。2012年4月,，美國費城兩家最大的報紙以5500萬美元的價格售出，該價格僅為2006年投資者為其支付的5.15億美元收購價格的一小部分,。(《華爾街日報》)
Driving these deals,，one way or another，is the collapse of the newspaper print ad market over the past few years—which shows no signs of stopping.U.S. print advertising fell 55% from 2007 to 2012,，according to the Newspaper Association of America. A further drop of 6.2% is expected this year,，and a 6.8% decline next year，predicts Magna Global,，a division of IPG Mediabrands.Another media agency,，ZenithOptimedia,，expects total ad spending on newspapers to fall 8% annually in the years ahead. At that rate，the total market for print newspaper ads would be reduced to less than $10 billion over the next decade from $49.3 billion in 2006.
促成這些交易的一大原因是過去幾年中報紙平面廣告市場的衰落,，這一狀況目前仍沒有停止的跡象,。根據(jù)美國報業(yè)協(xié)會提供的數(shù)據(jù)，美國平面廣告從2007年到2012年間下滑了55%,。IPG旗下盟博廣告公司的分支瑪格納環(huán)球預(yù)測,，預(yù)計今年該市場將再下滑6.2%，明年將下降6.8%,。另一家媒體機(jī)構(gòu)實力傳播集團(tuán)則預(yù)計,，報紙的廣告總開支在未來幾年中將每年下降8%。按照這一速度,，在未來10年里，整個平面報紙廣告市場將從2006年的493億美元萎縮至不到100億美元,。(《華爾街日報》)
The newspaper industry has struggled to stay afloat amid the digital transformation. Big US city newspapers,，such as the Boston Globe，have been particularly hard hit. Metro newspapers historically generated a larger portion of their revenues through classified ads,，making them especially vulnerable to the rise of the web and direct online competitors such as Craigslist.
報業(yè)發(fā)展在數(shù)字化變革的過程中舉步維艱,。《波士頓環(huán)球報》等美國大型都市報更是受到嚴(yán)重打擊,。在地鐵上發(fā)行的報紙的銷售收入中,，很大一部分來自于分類廣告，這使得這類報紙在面對網(wǎng)絡(luò)的崛起和來自Craigslist等廣告網(wǎng)站的直接競爭時格外脆弱,。(《金融時報》)